Gun task force struggles with diminished members, straw purchases

Gun violence persists in Baltimore City, even though Maryland has some of the toughest gun laws in the country -- so the 11 News I-Team decided to look into where the illegal guns are coming from and what's being done about them.

The past few weeks of violence in certain areas of Baltimore are reminiscent of the days when the city was ranked by the FBI as one of the most violent cities in the nation, but city leaders and police said they're determined to push back against the criminals.

This week of bloodshed in Baltimore has caught the attention of the public, city leaders and top brass at the police department, and one City Council member's opinion on what he believes is a big problem -- corrupt officers – has drawn a firestorm of criticism.

There are so many guns on the streets of Baltimore that are stashed in alleys, vacant houses or elsewhere, the I-Team's David Collins reported.

Baltimore Detective Ryan Guinn and Lt. Chris Nyberg, who are part of the city police Gun Trace Task Force, said they have recovered thousands of guns over the past few years, but their group has seen its members drop from 14 to five recently. Staffing shortages forced four city detectives to be reassigned, and city police said because of budget constraints, the Maryland State Police and Baltimore County police recently pulled their personnel.

The task force's members admitted that with only five people, it's difficult to execute more than one gun raid a day. Their mission is to target gun dealers, trace guns used in crimes and stem the flow of illegal weapons.

Maj. Dan Lioli is in charge of the unit. When Collins asked him what the primary source of illegal guns is in the city, he responded, "I think what we are seeing a lot of is through the black market. I think we are seeing guns that are being illegally transferred through individuals on the streets of Baltimore. It could be someone who lives outside the city."

According to police, most of the crime guns recovered in Baltimore last year came from within Maryland. Nearly a quarter of the weapons that police successfully traced led back to area gun shops, the top three of which were Just Guns, Clydes Sport Shop and White Marsh Arms in Baltimore County, Collins reported.

Straw purchases, jurisdictional issues create further problems

But experts said a gun traced back to a store doesn't mean the shop broke the law. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said those Baltimore County stores are all in compliance.

Collins reported that the illegal guns could have come from straw purchases in which a gun is legally obtained but then illegally provided to someone who shouldn't have it. The straw purchaser then simply reports the gun as lost or stolen.

Police conceded that cases against straw purchasers are hard to make.

"If they are denying it, denying it denying it, you can only push it so far before you have to say, 'Enough, I have nothing here now,'" Guinn said.

Another possible limitation in the battle against illegal gun usage is the fact that the task force can't cross jurisdictional lines to investigate gun shops by itself. It has to ask federal, state or local authorities to assist.

Collins reported another problem is that there's no central, shared database, meaning city police don't have direct access to the intelligence gathered by other jurisdictions. They must call state police or submit a request to the ATF for information, and that can take time.

"This is a regional problem, so you need partners at the state and local level. Baltimore City can't combat this problem by itself, nor should it be asked to, because at that point, it just becomes a numbers game. They are producing numbers with no effect," McLhinney said.

But Lioli disagreed. He said his task force is effective, and although the unit itself is no longer multi-jurisdictional, he said it partners with other outside agencies and with other city task forces that are.

Another challenge in combating gun violence is that Baltimore City requires missing guns to be reported, but no one has been charged with making a false report since 2008, when the law was enacted.

When a missing gun report comes in, typically a patrol officer responds -- not a Gun Trace Task Force member trained to ask the right questions, Collins reported. But Lioli said the unit follows up on all cases.

"Typically, people are acquiring guns through private transactions that are rarely traced," said Johns Hopkins researcher Dr. Daniel Webster, who co-authored a book on reducing gun violence in America and has done extensive research on illegal gun trafficking in Baltimore. "They might begin in a straw purchase that goes to a prohibitive individual, and that person may trade it or may share it with a fellow gang member."

For example, police recently found what they called a "community gun" inside a house that they said was stashed there for several people to use.

"I think that mandatory sentencing on the person possessing the handgun would be a head start for us to reduce crime in Baltimore," Lioli suggested.

Case and point: While executing a warrant recently, the Gun Trace Task Force found even more than what it was looking for, Collins reported.

"It's a Taurus .357 Magnum. The gentleman is prohibited from owning a firearm because he's been convicted before of a handgun violation, so at this point, he's going to be charged," Nyberg said.

The gun was hidden in the attic of a home where police said there is also a licensed daycare business.

While the task force will keep trying, that may be about all they can do.

"Do I think the guns will ever dry up in Baltimore? I don't think so," Guinn said.

MARYLAND HAS SOME OF THE TOUGHEST GUN LAWS IN THE COUNTRY. BUT THERE IS STILL PERSISTENT GUN VIOLENCE. WHERE ARE ALL OF THE GUNS COMING FROM? WHAT HAS BEEN DONE ABOUT THEM? DAVE AND COLLINS HAS THE STORY. -- DAVE COLLINS HAS THE STORY. THERE ARE SO MANY GUNS IN BALTIMORE IN ALLEYS OR VACANT HOUSES. IT IS STASHED SOMEWHERE. BALTIMORE CITY DETECTIVE AND POLICE LIEUTENANT HAVE RECOVERED THOUSANDS OF GUNS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. THEY ARE WITH THE CITY POLICE GUN TRACE TASK FORCE. THE NUMBER OF ITS MEMBERS HAS DROPPED FROM 14 TO FIVE. DUE TO STAFF SHORTAGES, FOR DETECTIVES HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED. BECAUSE OF BUDGET CONSTRAINTS, MARYLAND STATE POLICE RECENTLY PULLED THE PERSONNEL. THEIR OFFICE IS QUIET AND EMPTY. THEY ADMIT WITH ONLY FIVE PEOPLE, IT IS DIFFICULT TO EXECUTE MORE THAN ONE GUN RATED A. THEIR MISSION IS TO -- ONE GUN RAID A DAY. WHAT IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF THE LEGAL GUNS AND BALTIMORE CITY? WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF IT THROUGH THE BLACK MARKET. GUNS THAT ARE BEING ILLEGALLY TRANSPORT TO INDIVIDUALS ON STREETS. COULD BE SOMEONE WHO LIVES OUTSIDE THE CITY. MOST OF THE CRIME GUNS RECOVERED IN THE CITY LAST YEAR CAME FROM RIGHT HERE IN MARYLAND . NEARLY A QUARTER OF THE WEAPONS SUCCESSFULLY TRACED BY POLICE LED TO AREA GUN SHOPS. GUNS, SPORTS SHOPS -- EXPERTS SAY GUN TRACED BACK TO A STORE DOES NOT MEAN THE SHOT BROKE THE LAW. ATF SAYS OF THE STORES ARE ALL IN COMPLIANCE. A GOOD HAVE BEEN A STOCK PURCHASE FOR THAT WEAPON IS LEGALLY OBTAINED AND THEN PROVIDED TO SOME WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE IT. THE GUN PURCHASER THEN REPORTS THE GUN LOST OR STOLEN. IF THEY ARE DENYING IT, YOU CAN ONLY PUSH IT SO HARD. OTHER POSSIBLE LIMITATIONS -- THEY CAN ASK A FEDERAL OR STARE LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO ASSIST. THERE'S NO CENTRAL -- A CITY POLICE DO NOT HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO GATHERED BY OTHER JURISDICTIONS. THE SAME WITH POLICE WHO IS AMID A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AND I CAN TAKE TIME. EVERY TIRED POLICE CHIEF BELIEVES THAT LIMITED RESOURCES RENDER THE EFFECTIVENESS. YOU NEED PARTNERS AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL. THE CITY CANNOT COMBAT THIS PROBLEM BY THEMSELVES. NOR SHOULD THEY BE ASKED IT TO. THEN IT BECOMES A NUMBERS GAME. THE MAJOR DISAGREES. HE SAYS THE TASK FORCE IS AFFECTED. THE UNIT ITSELF IS NO LONGER MULTIJURISDICTIONAL, THEY PARTNER WITH OTHER OUTSIDE AGENCIES AND WITH OTHER CITY TASK FORCES THAT ARE ALL MULTIJURISDICTIONAL. ANOTHER CHALLENGE -- BALTIMORE CITY REQUIRES MISSING GUNS TO BE REPORTED ON THE BUT NO ONE HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH MAKING A FALSE REPORT SINCE 2008 WHEN THE LAW WAS ENACTED. WHEN A MISSING GUN REPORT COMES IN, TYPICALLY A PATROL OFFICER RESPONDS AND NOT A TASK FORCE MEMBER. THEY ARE TRAINED TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. THE UNIT FOLLOWS UP ON ALL CASES. PEOPLE ACQUIRING GUNS THROUGH PRIVATE TRANSACTIONS ARE RARELY TRACKED. HUME HELPED -- HE HAS HELPED CO-WRITE A BOOK. THEY MIGHT BEGIN IN A STRAW PURCHASE. IT MIGHT GO TO A PROHIBITED INDIVIDUAL. A PERSON MIGHT TRADE IT. POLICE CALL A COMMUNITY GUN INSIDE THIS HOUSE. IT WAS STASHED HERE FOR A NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO USE. MANDATORY SENTENCING -- WHILE EXECUTING A WARRANT, THE GUN TRACE TASK FORCE FOUND EVEN MORE THAN WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR. HE HAS BEEN CONVICTED BEFORE FOR HANDGUN VIOLATION. THE GUN WAS HIDDEN IN THE ATTIC OF A HOME THAT POLICE SAY THERE IS A LICENSED DAYCARE BUSINESS.